Visit it

See the spectacular Victoria Hall, the underground prison cells, the West Yorkshire Police Brass Band (from 1pm) and much more at a special open day on Sunday at Leeds Town Hall.

Clock tower tours are available at 13.45pm and 15.30pm.

Admission free. Pre-booking for clock tower tours is essential on 0113 224 3186


Listen to it

Eva Cassidy

Somewhere

The eighth album to appear since Eva Cassidy's untimely death in 1996, Somewhere pulls together a dozen previously unreleased songs showcasing the Washington CD singer's catholic tastes in music.

Coat of Many Colors is a Dolly Parton tune covered in fingerpicking style, My Love is Like a Red Red Rose is a Robert Burns poem rendered as a wistful folk number while a raucous stab at Aretha Franklin's Chain of Fools shows Eva wasn't afraid to let her hair down occasionally.

There's also a dash of rockabilly (Won't Be Long), a touch of country and western (Walkin' After Midnight) and a Gershwin standard (Summertime) as well as two originals – Early One Morning and Somewhere – that demonstrate she could write a decent melody of her own.

At the centre of it all is Cassidy's voice – pure and true whether she's singing jazz, gospel or pop.

Her millions of fans should lap this up.



Get fit

Medicine Ball Sit-up

Fitness tip of the week: Lift and lower the ball and the upper body 20 times slowly for a great workout on those tummy muscles.

Breath out on the way up and try to hold the tummy button inwards while doing so.

Recommended by personal trainer Richard Hill. www.richardhill.org.uk



Eat it

Watercress is a star performer in so many ways. I love the fat green luxurious leaves in salads, sprinkled with rock salt in sandwiches, in sauce and perhaps most of all in soup.

Watercress Soup

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

l Three large bunches watercress, destalked and chopped – about 8 oz (225 g) de-stalked weight (reserve a few leaves for garnishing)

l 4 oz (110 g) butter

the white parts of 5 leeks, about 14 oz (400 g), washed and chopped

l Four medium potatoes, about 1 lb 8 oz (700 g) in weight, peeled and chopped

l Three pints (1.75 litres) stock made with Marigold Swiss vegetable bouillon powder

l Four heaped tablespoons crème fraîche

l salt and freshly milled black pepper

l You will also need a saucepan with a capacity of about 6 pints (3.5 litres).

First of all melt the butter in a large thick-based saucepan, then add the prepared leeks, potato and watercress and stir them around so that they're coated with the melted butter.

Next sprinkle in some salt then cover with a lid and let the vegetables sweat over a very gentle heat for about 20 minutes, giving the mixture a good stir about halfway through.

After that, add the stock, bring everything up to simmering point and simmer, covered, for about 10-15 minutes or until the vegetables are quite tender. Then remove the pan from the heat and when it's cooled a little liquidise the soup – you'll need to do this in batches.

Then return it all to the saucepan, swirl in three tablespoons of crème fraîche, season to taste and reheat very gently. Then serve in hot soup bowls and garnish each one with a little extra crème fraîche and some watercress leaves.

As recommended by

www.deliaonline.com


Nest building

No room can be considered complete in today's decorating climate without the addition of a stylish chair. No matter what room or what decor chairs are taking over.

This revelation comes after a flourish of designs that have taken the basic functionality of the chair and used a fresh way of thinking to turn it into a work of art. There are a million styles and colours to choose from meaning they don't have to be confined to sitting rooms and dining rooms.

Try a gorgeous gilt chair in the bedroom or a rustic leather tub chair in the hallway. If your dining room is starting to look a little dated give it a new lease of life by opting for some funky dining chairs.

Recommended by Clare Jobson, creative stylist, Barker & Stonehouse, Leeds.